Epades Pennoberton (Volkae and Saluuioi Headhunters)
Description In southern Gaul, it is said, ride men with more than one head. Swift at lighting and hard as thunder, the nobles of this region ride. Other folk may display their wealth and might with gold or feasts, but in this realm there is a favoured, bloody and macabre currency: human heads. To possess the head of your foe is to be thought of highly by your peers. Just as with gold and silver coin elsewhere, to open a chest of human heads and display it before your folk is here considered a mark of wealth. Lose a battle to such people and you may rest assured, people will look upon your face and admire it for years to come... although it may rest within a chest, alcove or gateway rather than a grave. Historically, Classical authors frequently remarked on the practice of headhunting in Keltoi speaking societies. As a result there has been much debate among archaeologists and historians as to how prevalent headhunting was within such communities, or to what extent our image of Iron Age peoples as headhunters stems from fantastical descriptions by Mediterranean authors. The evidence for headhunting in Iron Age Europe is spatially and temporally varied, with some regions and periods having good evidence for its practice, whilst in others it does not appear to have taken place. One region with very good evidence for headhunting is the Mediterranean coast of Gaul. This region of Gaul displays an interest among communities for human skulls which dates back to the Bronze Age, however it is during the La Tène Iron Age that skulls appear to have been particularly important. Based on analysis of the data, it appears that headhunting was associated with state formation. In this region headhunting appears to have peaked in the 3rd century BC, a period which sees the creation of fortified oppida such as the example at Pech Maho (where 11 human skulls were recovered). At Pech Maho, human skulls were displayed in prominent locations, such as pillars at entranceways, or along the side of streets. At the famous site of Entremont, known for its monumental stone architecture, human skulls were inset into a stone portico. This period also sees the formation of larger polities in this region such as the Saluuioi and Volkae Aremokikoi, whilst graves from sites such as Ensérune also show that there was an increasing emphasis on warrior identity during this period. Headhunting declined in this region in the 2nd century BC, the period during which we observe the greatest degree of social and political stability. However, it remerged in the 1st century BC, likely as a result of the disruption to the indigenous social structure caused by the Romani conquest. Indeed one of the most influential accounts of Iron Age Gaul, that of Poseidonius, was written when the author visited this region in the early 1st century BC. Poseidonius remarked on how Gallic nobles would curate the skulls of their enemies in boxes, speaking with pride about how they or their ancestors had come to possess the skulls, and how they had refused large sums of money in exchange for them. This curation is attested to at sites like Le Carla, Bouriège, where teeth and bones showed evidence of having been retained for a long period of time and exposed to heat and cold. Headhunting in Mediterranean Gaul therefore seems to have been linked to the rise of powerful individuals and communities, who employed the display of human heads as a sign of their might. The emergence of political and social stability in 2nd century BC meant that the need for such displays declined, and with it the evidence for headhunting. The defeat of the Saluuioi and Volkae Aremokikoi by the Romani in the late 2nd century BC, and the disruption this brought, meant that headhunting once again re-emerged in the 1st century BC as a means of social and political advancement. Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Celtic Units Category:Aedui Category:Arverni